James pleukharp



Patented Mar. 7 |899.

J. PLEUKHARP.

H A N D T R U C K.

(Application led Marl 19, 1898.)

(No Model.)

Noms sans co. Fuorauwo.. wAsnmamrg NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES PLEUKHARP, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO MARY M.

PLEUKHARP, OF SAME PLACE.

HAND-TRUCK.

SPECIFICATION forming 'part of Letters Patent No. 620,668, dated March '7, 1899.

Application filed March l 9, 1 8 9 8 VTo @ZZ whom it may concern: y

Be it known that l, JAMES PLEUKHARP, a 'citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the Icounty of Franklin and State T of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Hand-Trucks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and 'exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apio pertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to hand-trucks, and is designed as an improvement on the truck shown and described in my United States Letters Patent numbered 555,5S4and dated March zo and more durable and much more easily repaired than the ordinary form of truck, that shall be easier to handle and more convenient in loading and unloading and handling heavy loads, and that is adapted for the handling 2 5 of all kinds of freight.

A further object is to provide a truck combininglightness, strength, and durability and on which boxes, barrels, dac., may be loaded without the necessity of inserting the dash 3o thereunder.

Vith these and other objects in view my invention consists, first, in providing a novel construction of truck-frame having in addition to the side beams two side bars or arms which carry the dash and serve as feet; second, in providing novel catch-hooks by which heavy boxes, barrels, and bales maybe readily and conveniently loaded without inserting the dash under the same, and, third, in pro- 4o viding an adjustable gripping device to engage the load by which the entire weight of the body may be thrown on the handles.

My invention further consists in constructing a truck having its parts so proportioned l and arranged as to secure a double action in loading and in the novel features of constructions, combinations, and' arrangements of parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed, by which these objects are attained,

5o and an exceedingly strong, durable, and effi- Serial No. 674,498. (No model.)

cient truck for handling all kinds of freight produced.

In the accompanying drawings, hereto annexed and forming part of this specification, Figure l is a perspective view of a handtruck embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section thereof; Fig. 3, a cross-section. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the dash; Fig. 5, a detail View of the double grappling-hook.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, l represents the side beams of the truck,formed with terminal handles 2, which correspond to the beams of the ordinary construction of loading-truck. In the ordinary construction of truck,' however, the dash is secured to said beams adjacent the handles, while in my improved form of truck the dash 3 is bolted by its side arms or straps 3' to the upper ends of two short beams or arms 4, the lower ends 4 of which serve as feet for the truck to rest on. The upper and front ends of these short beams are connected by a cross-brace 6 and the said side beams by a brace 6', preferably constructed of cast-iron or other suitablemetal. These cross-braces are each formed with flanges or shoulders 7, which are arranged at an angle suitable to receive the beams l 4, the side beam resting upon one flange or shoulder, while the short arm or beam-rests upon the other shoulder, and said cross-braces are securely connected with each other by means of tie rods or bolts 8 and nuts 8', and as one cross-brace is arranged upon the upper side of the side beams and the other cross-brace upon the under side thereof it will be seen that when said tie rods or bolts are tightly drawn up a rigid connection between the parts and an exceedingly stiff frame will be provided. This manner of connecting the side beams and feet is substantially the same as that disclosed in my United States Letters Patent No. 555,584, above noted. In the present construction, however, I make the short beams independent of side beams and handles and attach the dash thereto and so alter the construction and relation of the parts as to provide anovel and advantageous form of loading-truck.

IOO

Supporting-bars 9 are arranged between and parallel with thel side beam and are connected together adjacent their front ends by a bolt 10. The front ends of these bars project under the cross-brace 6 and rest upon the cross-brace 6', and the rear ends of said bars are connected together and to the side beams 1 by bolts 11, passing through sleeves 12 between the bars and beams and having retaining-nuts 13. Braces 14 connect between the bolts 11 and feet 4 of the short beams 4 in order to secure additional strength; but these braces are not essential, as the truck may be made without them.

The wheels 15 are mounted upon an axle 1G, journaled in bearing-blocks 17, bolted to the under side of the side beams 1, at the front end thereof, and having an arm 17', bolted to the short beams 4, to secure greater rigidity to the parts than if bolted to the side beams alone. Additional bearing-blocks 18 for the axle may be provided on the bars 9 in large trucks, but omitted in small trucks.

The dash 3 is preferably made bail-shaped, as usual, with the cross-plate 3 thereof disposed at an angle to the parallel side arms or straps 3', which are bolted, as hereinbefore described, to the short beams 4 and are made wide enough to overhang the wheels and form shields to prevent bags or other material from dropping or sagging down thereon.

19 represents catch-hooks pivoted to the short bolt 10, which are adapted when in operative position to lie upon the cross-brace 6 and when out of use upon the brace 6'. lrVhen in operative position, the points of the catchhooksproject a little above the dash and in close proximity to the same, so as to catch the package to be loaded a short distance from the bottom. By means of these catch-hooks heavy boxes, barrels, and the like may be loaded without the necessity of inserting the dash thereunder-,as is necessary with ordinary trucks. In addition to these catch-hooks I provide a gripping device whereby heavy boxes, barrels, &c., may be handled with ease and facility and loaded without rst tilting the article onto the truck, as ordinarily done. This gripping device consists of an open-link chain 20, connected at one end to the rearmost bolt 11 and carrying at its opposite or free end a double grappling-hook 21. This grapple is swiveled adjacent its center to the end link 20' of the chain and formed at opposite ends thereof with hooks 21' 212 of diiferent sizes. When out of use, the device is supported so as to be out of the way by engaging the large hook 21' with the said bolt 11, as illustrated in Fig. 1. In use the large hook 21' of the grapple is engaged with the article to be loaded and the chain made the proper length by engaging the smaller hook 212 with the proper link of the chain, so as to take up the slack therein.

In operation the side beams 1 of the truck are brought into contact with the article to be loaded, with. the catch-hooks 19 resting on the cross-brace 6 in position to grip said ar ticle. On the handles 2 being then grasped and one foot of the operator placed on the brace 6' to prevent slippage by breaking the truck, the whole weight of the body of the operator may be thrown on the handles and the loaded truck tilted until the wheels rest on the door. The position of the operators hands on the handles may then be changed and the foot removed from the brace 6 and placed upon one of the short-beam feet 4', and upon the weight of the operator again being thrown on the truck the latter may be brought over and dropped, so that it will rest with its feet on the floor. In the drawings I have shown the truck so constructed that the body portion thereof stands horizontal when the feet are rested on the door. It may, however, be arranged to stand at an angle, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, to enable the operator to more conveniently grasp the handles.

From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen'that I have provided animproved hand-truck which embodies all the essential requisites-namely, simplicity in construction, strength, rigidity, and durability, together with convenienceand easiness in handling. i

In addition thereto my improved truck possesses important advantages over the ordinary construction of warehouse and load` ing truck, among which I may mention the following: No mortise-and-tenon joints are used in its construction, the parts being all bolted together in a novel manner, so that repairs may be readily made and looseness caused by shrinkage or straining of the parts taken up. The peculiar construction, relation, and mode of connecting. the side and short beams, dash, cross-braces, and axle together imparts great strength and stiifness IOO IIO

to the truck, as does also the construction of the frame with four sustaining members instead of two-t'. e., the two side beams 1 and two supporting-bars 9, adapted to receive and support the weight of the load. The'feet are out of the way of the operator and are adapted to serve as foot-levers, and the strain falling thereon by dropping the truck to the floor is less than in` the common form owing to the fact that they drop a much shorter distance, and the elasticity of the wooden feet takes up much of the strain. y

The truck is adapted for all purposes, being used with equal facility in the handling of boxes, bales, crates, bags, dsc., and the parts are so proportioned as to secure a double action in loading, and the work is in a great measure accomplished when the article is tilted and the wheels of the truck touch the iloor. By means of the grappling device, consisting of the chain and double grapplinghook, heavy boxes, barrels, and the like may IZO the truck and the entire weight of the body thrown on the handles, increasing the leverage, as demonstrated by actual practice, to such an extent that one thousand pounds may be handled as easily on this truck as tive hundred pounds on the common form of truck.

I desire it understood that I do not limit my invention to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein shown and described, but reserve to myself the right to make such changes and modifications as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described myinvention, what I claim as new and useful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, 1s=

l. In trucks, the combination of the side beams, the short beams or arms secured thereto and having the lower ends thereof adapted to serve as feet, and a dash secured to the upper ends of said short beams or arms, substantially as described.

2. In trucks, the combination of the side beams, the short beams or arms secured thereto and having the lower ends thereof adapted to serve as feet, a dash secured to the upper ends of said short beams or arms, an axle j ournaled in bearings on said side beams and eX- tending transversely thereof adjoining the point of junction of said side beams, short beams and dash, and wheels mounted upon said axle, substantially as described.

3. In trucks, the combination of the side beams, the short beams or arms secured thereto and having the lower ends thereof adapted to serve as feet, a dash secured to the upper ends of said short beams or arms, the crossbraces having flanges or lugs thereon at an angle to receive the side beams and short beams, and tie rods or bolts connecting said cross-braces, substantially as described.

4. In trucks, the combination of the side beams, the short beams or arms secured thereto and having the lower ends thereof adapted to serve as feet, a dash secured to the upper ends of said short beams or arms, the crossbraces having flanges or lugs thereon at an angle to receive the side beams and short beams, tie rods or bolts connecting said crossbraces, an axle journaled in bearings on said side beams and extending transversely thereof adjoining the point of junction of said side beams,short beams and dash, and wheels mounted upon said axle, substantially as described. p

5. In trucks, the combination of the side beams, the short beams or arms secured thereto and having the lower ends adapted to serve as feet, a dash secured to the upper ends of said short beams or arms, the cross-braces connecting said side beams and short beams, the intermediate supporting-bars extending parallel with the side beams and connected with the cross-braces, and connections between said side beams and supporting-bars, substantially as described.

6. In trucks, the combination of the side beams, the short beams or arms secured thereto, a dash secured to said short beams, front and rear cross-braces connecting said beams, and catch-hooks pivoted to the frame adjacent thedash and between said cross-beams and adapted to be supported by the latter, substantially as described.

7. In trucks, the combination of the side beams, the short beams or arms secured thereto and having the lower ends thereof adapted to serve as feet, a dash secured to the upper ends of said shortbeams or arms, the crossbraces connecting said side beams and short beams, the intermediate supporting-bars extending parallel With the side beams and connected with the cross-braces, a bolt uniting the front ends of said bars, and catch-hooks pivoted to said bolt adjacent the dash and` between said cross-braces and adapted to be supported by the latter, substantially as described.

In testimony Whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES PLEUKHARP. Witnesses: Y

JOHN K. HENRY, H. H. SHARP. 

